A Winning Franchise: Look At Bandits' Ways

April 7, 1985|By Jerry Greene

TAMPA — An interesting way to check the progress of a football team (or a government or a hot dog stand or just about anything) is to check its competitors. With a primary interest in the Orlando Renegades, let's take a look at the Tampa Bay Bandits and Jacksonville Bulls, Florida's other entries in the USFL.

In a sense the Tampa Bay Bandits are the spiritual father of the Renegades. A majority of the Renegades' ownership once had a piece of the Bandits -- 'Gades General Manager Bugsy Engelberg came over from the Bandits -- and, in many ways, the Renegades are patterned after the 3-year-old Bandits.

If you are going to copy a team in the USFL, you cannot find a better role model. The Bandits have been a well-run organization on and off the field.

In fact, if the USFL should dissolve, either through attrition or merger, the greatest shame may be that the Bandits will not survive. They can't play without a league -- and the NFL has no room for them. But we digress.

On the field the Bandits are a fine football team. But a glance at the starting lineup Saturday night against Jacksonville showed only seven starters who were with the Bandits in their first season. And only 19 originals are left on the 40-man roster.

It should be noted that the Bandits have maintained success without a payroll that rivals the national debt. But at the same time they have paid big bucks when convinced it was needed.

The Bandits have coughed up the heavy dough three times. Running back Gary Anderson has been worth every penny, defensive end Mike Butler has been a sporadic performer, and quarterback Wayne Peace (released in the preseason) was a waste of money.

But the secret to the Bandits has not been their stars but their coaching and supporting cast. Overacheivers like nose tackle Fred Nordgren or wide receiver Larry Brodsky have kept the Bandits near the top.

And it's interesting how these guys feel about the team and the community. Orlando and the Renegades should take note.

Nordgren is one of the original Bandits. But he went to school at Portland State and lives in Oregon, so it was no surprise when the Breakers wanted to trade for him this year.

What was surprising was Nordgren's reaction. ''I called Freddie about the trade, and he sounded shocked,'' Bandits Coach Steve Spurrier said. ''Freddie said, 'I don't want to play for the Breakers. I want to come down there with you guys. The Bandits are my team.' ''

And there's Brodsky, a small wide receiver who refuses to quit. He earned his minimum salary Saturday night by making a great move to score on a 24-yard pass that tied Jacksonville at 7-all.

''Playing with Tampa is fun,'' he says. ''Coach Spurrier has put the fun back into football. The fans are fun -- unlike New Jersey where if you don't entertain the fans, they'll entertain themselves by throwing things at you or fighting among themselves.''

Banditball has been fun -- and successful -- and relatively economical.

It also has been well promoted, something the Renegades seem to have forgotten to a certain degree. Saturday night's ''million-dollar giveaway'' never materialized, but the effort did put a lot of fans into the stands on a rainy night. The point is that the Renegades must never forget they are in show biz, and sometimes just putting on a good show isn't enough.

Oh yes, we were going to talk about the Bulls, too, weren't we? Let's see, the Bulls spent a few million dollars this year to acquire Brian Sipe for a week, replace him with Ed Luther, and add Mike Rozier and Keith Millard to their roster.

The Bulls barely beat the Renegades, and looked more cheap than expensive in a 31-17 loss to the Bandits Saturday night.

The four USFL teams with the highest payrolls are the New Jersey Generals, the Los Angeles Express, the Memphis Showboats (remember them?) and the Bulls. Is this the way to build a franchise? You look at the USFL standings and decide.